It is always an amazing feeling after getting your butt handed to you, especially in the most friendly and polite manner. It is almost like getting spun around over the head of Randy Savage and rather than passing out of sheer fright, you find yourself crying “Eagleeeeeee!” instead and getting treated to dinner afterwards. In the past 2 weeks, I attended 2 of the free classes offered by Strikerfit Kettlebell Club. Their philosophy is to get people out of the gym with both indoor and outdoor classes to achieve an effective and fun workout with others in *iron* solidarity. As a personal trainer, I have always needed another trainer to both push me to my max and actually keep me interested. It was like kismet stumbling upon this fine group of people.

For both of the free classes, there was ample time for warm-up and overview of basic technique for all levels to get familiar with kettlebell terms and moves, lead by the owner himself. Then after feeling like a pro with the basic moves, I quickly found myself back in a rookie state of mind as one of their trainers started the actual workout. After about a half hour of a few exercise sets—which became more brutal as the session went on—we were rewarded with a cool down and stretching session led by a yoga instructor. The same format was followed for the 2nd class I attended, with the exception of an additional trainer who warranted a few groans from the regulars. The woman next to me leaned over and said, “Get ready to get your ass kicked.” She wasn’t kidding. But his portion was so short that I almost wanted more. Almost.

The classes had a good mix of new faces and regulars, which offered an insight to the club itself. When the regulars are comfortable enough to prod the instructors while they themselves tell the cheesiest of kettlebell puns, I become more drawn to wanting to be part of the club. A sense of community is what makes clubs like these the most desirable, and it didn’t hurt feeling like a badass on the beach as a dude on his bike kept riding by and yelling strangely positive and supportive compliments. Overall the free classes gave a gleeful taste of what the club was about. The owner’s wife was on hand to answer questions and hand out free training session coupons and class calendars. Chatting with them afterwards, they were genuinely interested in hearing feedback and getting suggestions for more locations to make their club accessible to different neighborhoods. They currently offer membership plans to class locations that are not especially close to me, so I am hoping they expand to my neighborhood so I can commit.

Check out Strikerfit Kettlebell Club on Facebook for upcoming free sessions as well as their official website for more information and membership details.